Media devices, such as a set top box, a stereo, a television, a computer system, a game system, or the like, are configured to present a media content event to a user. The video portion of the media content event is presented to a user on a display and the audio portion of the media content is reproduced as audible sounds by one or more speakers. In a broadcast operating environment, a media content provider broadcasts one or more streams of media content (interchangeably referred to herein as a media content stream) to the media devices.
Typically, a media content event presents theme-based visual and audio content to a user for their enjoyment and/or for informative purposes. Examples of such theme-based content includes movies, films, serial programming, sporting events, documentaries, newscasts, religious programs, commercials (typically of short duration with advertising content), or the like. Serial programming may present a continuing plot and/or theme, often with the same cast of actors, in a sequential episode-by-episode basis that is available periodically. Advertisements, commercials or the like may be interspersed within the media content event.
In a broadcast environment, the media content event is broadcast to a plurality of media devices in a stream of media content residing in the media content stream. Typically, at any given instant in time, the media device may be receiving one or more media content streams with hundreds of, or even thousands of, concurrently broadcast streaming media content events. Typically, presentation of a media content event occurs over some time span (duration). Thus, the media content event has a beginning portion that usually presents identifying information about the media content event, such as music, text of a title, or other information. When the user views this beginning portion of the media content event, the user intuitively understands that they are viewing the beginning of the media content event.
If the user is viewing a live broadcast of a particular media content event of interest, the media content event of interest is presented as it is being received by the media device. Accordingly, as a stream of media content with the media content event of interest is being initially broadcast, presentation of the media content event of interest to the user can begin at the actual broadcast start time of the media content event of interest. As time progresses, the entirety of the streaming media content event of interest is presented to the user as the stream of media content is being broadcast to and is received at the media device. At some point, the media content event of interest comes to its end (conclusion).
On occasion, the user may be interested in viewing a particular media content event that is scheduled for broadcasting at a future time. A schedule of media content events and their associated broadcast schedule is presented to the user in the form of an electronic program guide (EPG). The user typically is able to navigate to and highlight (focus) onto a region of the presented EPG that is indicating the particular media content event of interest that the user is interested in viewing and/or recording. For convenience, the user may specify, via the presented EPG, a particular media content event of interest that should be recorded (saved into a memory medium), such as a digital video recorder residing in the media device.
In response to receiving the user specification for a recording of a particular media content event, the media device accesses EPG information that includes the scheduled broadcast start time, the scheduled broadcast end time, and the channel that is providing the broadcast of the specified media content event of interest. The scheduled broadcast start time is used to define a recording start time (these times are typically the same time, though some amount of time may be optionally added to advance the recording start time ahead of the scheduled broadcast start time by some predefined duration). Similarly, the scheduled broadcast end time is used to define a recording end time (these times are typically the same time, though some amount of time may be optionally subtracted to delay the recording end time behind of the scheduled broadcast end time by some predefined duration). The media content event identifier, recording start time, the recording end time, the channel identifier, and/or other recording instructions (interchangeably referred to herein as a “timer”) is then stored by the media device.
The timer may specify recording information for a single media content event. In other instances, the timer may specify that the media device is to perform a plurality of recordings for a series of related media content events. For example, the user may enjoy a comedy series, wherein a new episode of the comedy is broadcast each week at a particular time and on a particular channel during its episode season. The timers may indicate that the media device is to record new broadcast episodes of the comedy series.
As time progresses, the media device compares real time with the start times of each of the stored timers. When real time approaches the broadcast start time of a particular timer, the media device “tunes” itself to the channel that is broadcasting the specified media content event. The channel information of the timer is used to tune the media device to receive the media content stream having the specified media content event of interest.
Then, at the specified start time, the media device initiates recording of the media content event. That is, the recording begins when real time reaches the scheduled broadcast time. The recording ends at the specified end time (corresponding to the broadcast end time).
For each requested recording, a timer is generated. Accordingly, over a relatively long period of time, the user may request recordings of many different media content events (or series of related media content events). Thus, many different timers may be stored by the media device. At some point in time, a timer is likely to become stale and no longer be valid. That is, at some point in time, a stored timer will never be used again to record a media content event. Such timers are interchangeably referred to herein as a “stale timer.”
For example, if the timer is configured to record a plurality of serial media content events (such as the example comedy series that weekly broadcasts a new episode during its season), at some point it is likely that the series will end. After the series finale has been broadcast, there will never be new broadcast media content events for that particular series. Thus, that timer will become stale (and never be used again). Similarly, a sporting event between two particular teams will occur only one time. After the sporting event is broadcast, the timer generated for the recording of the sporting event will never be used again, and thus will become a stale timer.
The accumulation of a large number of timers, and particularly a large number of stale times, at the media device creates several issues. A first issue is that storing a large number of timers at the media device requires a relatively large amount of memory storage capacity. Here, any stale timers stored in the memory unnecessarily utilize memory capacity of the media device.
A second issue arises in that some media devices must constantly compare real time with the recording start times of each of the stored timers. Here, computational resources of the media device are needlessly used if the start times of stale timers are continually reviewed since the stale timers will never be used to generate an actual recording at the media device.
A third issue arises when many timers have been stored and generated at the media device. The user of the media device is typically responsible for management of their user-defined timers. The media device is typically configured to present the user a listing, menu, or the like of their user-defined timers. If a large number of timers have been defined by the user, then the process of reviewing their timers may be relatively cumbersome for the user (in that some amount of time will be required for the user to review and ascertain the recording information of each listed timer, and then make a decision to delete or retain each particular timer).
Further, if a timer is no longer desirable, or if a timer is stale, the user may be required to manually instruct the media device to delete or otherwise erase that particular timer. If many stale timers are listed, the user amount of time required for the user to identify, consider, and then to manually delete stale timers may be perceived by the user as a waste of their personal time.
Accordingly, there is a need in the arts to better manage timers that have been stored at a media device.